Bruno Mars’ sold-out pop spectacle thrills fans during the first of four nights at the Forum

Bruno Mars (center) celebrates his first of four sold-out shows at the Forum in Inglewood on Tuesday, Nov. 7. (Photo by Florent Dechard)

After graduating high school in his native Hawaii, singer-songwriter Bruno Mars moved to the Los Angeles area with the dream of becoming a star. The now 32-year-old multi-Grammy award-winning artist, choreographer and multi-instrumentalist soaked in several moments during his first of four sold-out nights at the Forum in Inglewood on Tuesday night.

With a wide smile he told the crowd: “I used to live right down the street. I know it’s going to sound cheesy, but I said ‘One day I’m gonna sell that (place) out’.”

Mars and his stellar backup band known as the Hooligans will also grace the stage at the sold-out venue tonight, Nov. 8, Friday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 11. The production on the show is massive, so it seems unlikely he’d stray too far from the set list, which leans heavily on his third album, “24K Magic,” which dropped last November. The band has been on a dead run with the 24K Magic World Tour that kicked off back in March and wraps up its North American leg Saturday at the Forum before it heads into the Latin American market.

The group showed no signs of fatigue Tuesday night, hitting the stage hard with “Finesse” and rolling right into “24K Magic,” which included so much insane stage lighting and even fireworks, it felt as if it could have been the encore. With that much energy right out of the gate, Mars set the tone for the evening. He was there to party and he wanted everyone to party with him. The audience happily obliged, succumbing to the beat to dance along with the entire band, which moved in unison to every track. Though Mars is small in stature (he’s only 5-foot-5), he’s a giant on stage and the ladies love him as they lost their minds screaming after every well-timed pelvic thrust.

One of the most alluring things about Mars is his obvious appreciation for all genres of music and his fearlessness in bringing them all together while also paying homage to those who came before him including James Brown, Michael Jackson and bands such as Bell Biv Devoe, Boyz II Men and New Edition. He’s a non-stop dancing and singing machine.

After “Treasure” and “Perm,” the band had a little fun with “Calling All My Lovelies,” a slow, Prince-style jam with Mars picking up an electric guitar, and fans got into “Chunky,” during which Mars proclaims his love for ladies with voluptuous derrières. Things got sexy for “Straight Up & Down” and Mars showcased his true chops during the sultry “Versace on the Floor.”

The momentum picked right back up for “Marry You” and “Runaway Baby” was another big production moment, again, that easily could have been an encore. Mars let the crowd cool off and gave the band a break as he stepped up to the mic to sing “one of of my favorite songs,” he declared, the soulful ballad “When I Was Your Man.” It was a huge moment vocally and the audience sang along like it was karaoke night.

The band rejoined Mars for “Gorilla” and he dedicated the pretty pop song, “Just The Way You Are,” to the Forum crowd. They delivered the hit “Locked Out of Heaven” in the encore, dousing the crowd in tons of gold glitter and dancing right into arguably Mars’ biggest hit, a genius, inescapable collaboration with Mark Ronson, “Uptown Funk.”